Do you ever find yourself struggling to make progress on a goal – what do you do? Act like an infant! …metaphorically speaking.

Goals are meant to be big. They are meant to take time; yet too often we outpace ourselves early on which can be detrimental to overall success. Ambition turns into defeatism as we begin telling ourselves the finish line is out of reach. This is precisely the moment where we must act like an infant, because all infants are successful!

“When you were still a small child, you made your way around the world crawling on your hands and knees. Everyone else was walking, and one day you got into your little head that maybe you could give that a try to. Once that thought appeared, there was suddenly no “maybe” about it: you had to give it a try. There was no way you were not going to attempt it, fail at it, and then keep attempting it until you mastered it. Step-by-step, quite literally, we started working to develop the skills needed to walk.” – Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge

Could you imagine if you gave up when you were an infant? Today you’d be crawling around on your hands and knees as a grown adult. Of course you didn’t give up then – and you shouldn’t today either!

Embody the relentless determination you had when learning to walk. Approach your goals moment to moment. Like learning to walk you should expect to fall. And just as you did when you were an infant, you get back up and keep working at it.

You first had to learn to crawl before you could walk. Similarly, you must break down annual goals into smaller (more manageable) milestones. Begin with a walking pace towards your goals; and before you know it, you will be running towards the finish line.

This is the power of continuous effort…this is the power of acting like an infant!

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That was a quote from Lance Armstrong and his belief, do not quit at all costs, ended up costing him everything.

Since childhood, we’ve been taught that quitting isn’t an option; that “winners never quit and quitters never win”. Sounds great on the surface, but let’s be real – quitting is sometimes the best option. In fact, I would argue that success demands we be perpetually course-correcting, a.k.a. quitting.

Back to Lance Armstrong. What if he had quit doing the wrong things so that he could do more of the right things? If only he stopped taking those performance enhancing drugs he would likely have some “legitimate” tour de France records. But he didn’t quit and those seven consecutive records have since been erased from the books.

Herein lies my point, there are times when quitting is the right decision. Quitting can be a positive process of choosing the path that more fully serves you personally and professionally. Quitting can be simple tweaking and refocusing in/on a more positive direction. Quitting can be learning to be more productive, efficient and effective. It all depends on what you are giving up and why.

Reflect on and identify any areas where your intentions don’t match your actions; where your actions do not match your desired outcomes. “Quit” those activities/habits which no longer bring you closer to achieving those dreams and goals. You owe it to yourself!

And while your parents were right that completing what you start is an excellent rule of thumb, it’s not always the best option. After all, if Lance Armstrong had quit “winning at all costs,” his legacy would be far different than what it is today.

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.

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